Beating the Red Sox is always a good thing, even if none of the stats or even the win itself count
Hello, friends.
There are now 32 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. This number is currently in use by Ryan O’Hearn, belonged most memorably to Matt Wieters, and was used for the longest by Mark Williamson, one of my favorite Orioles growing up by virtue of his being named Mark. Real baseball will be back before too much longer.
In the meantime, there’s fake baseball. The Orioles were victorious in their first Grapefruit League contest yesterday, as Colton Cowser delivered a walkoff home run to put the O’s over the Red Sox, 4-3. Earlier in the game, Corbin Burnes pitched an inning. Jackson Holliday was in the starting lineup. Nothing interesting happened with Holliday at the plate, but he did make a nice play on completing a caught stealing when somebody tried to run on Adley Rutschman.
If you missed the game, check out the full box score here. You know it’s a spring training box score because there are just SO many names, and one or two are probably new to you even if you devotedly and deeply follow the Orioles system. Errol Robinson? Sorry, doesn’t ring a bell. He was born in Maryland and got a hit yesterday though, so good for him.
Another game awaits today. The Orioles travel to play the Pirates at 1:05 this afternoon. The game will not be televised on MASN, though it will be on the Orioles Radio Network. The quality of the broadcast on MASN of the spring debut was poor, with cameras in use that seemed to generate low-quality video and with operators unable to counter the wind. I don’t have high hopes that these technical issues will be resolved by the next TV broadcast.
Cole Irvin has been announced as the starting pitcher for this game. I don’t imagine he’ll be lining up immediately after Burnes when the season begins. For now, it’s just about getting the work in, not getting hurt while building up the pitch counts. We’re weeks away from worrying too much about results.
There was an encouraging update provided by Mike Elias when he joined yesterday’s TV broadcast, as he relayed that Kyle Bradish is continuing his throwing progression without incident. Bradish is built up to throws from flat ground at 90 feet, about a week into the restart of his season routine without any issues. “Everything is positive” for the time being, Elias said. That’s great news, though it does seem that even if things go perfectly from here, Bradish will be out for all of April and probably half of May too.
Around the blogO’sphere
It’s the pants, too. Orioles players aren’t thrilled with see-through material. (The Baltimore Banner)
You may have heard some furor over the low quality and poor design of new jerseys for this year. Seeing these things in action yesterday, I think the negative reaction is warranted. Players are particularly concerned with uniform pants not being opaque enough.
Orioles roster projection: Questions remain in bullpen and on bench as games begin (The Baltimore Sun)
It’s probably going to go down to the end of camp before the Orioles make the final decisions on who’s making the bench and who’s getting the last couple of spots in the bullpen.
After a wild winter, Kaleb Ort hopes a refined cutter will help him stick with the Orioles (The Baltimore Banner)
Ort is one of the guys in that bullpen mix. He seems like more of a longshot to me, but a lot could change over several weeks to push him ahead of an incumbent or two.
Norby: “I know how good I am, I know I’m ready for the big leagues, I know I’m ready to make an impact” (School of Roch)
Having said all of that, it’s also the case that Connor Norby is battling a little side soreness and is not going to play for at least the first few days.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1975, the Orioles traded Boog Powell to Cleveland, receiving catcher Dave Duncan. Boog went on to drop a .297/.377/.524 batting line that year with the then-Indians, while Duncan OPSed .591 for the ‘75 O’s.
There are a pair of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 1989-91 reliever Kevin Hickey, and 1964 pitcher Dave Vineyard. Today is Vineyard’s 83rd birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841), Marx Brother Zeppo Marx (1901), baseball Hall of Famer Monte Irvin (1919), baseball Hall of Famer Ron Santo (1940), The Beatles guitarist George Harrison (1943), actress Rashida Jones (1976), and K-popper Rocky (1999).
On this day in history…
In 1836, Samuel Colt received a patent for his design of the revolver.
In 1870, the first Black man to ever be seated in Congress was sworn in. Hiram Rhodes Revels of Mississippi took a seat in the United States Senate.
In 1933, the USS Ranger launched from Virginia. It’s a noteworthy occasion as this vessel was the first US Navy ship to be built as an aircraft carrier, the type of ship that proved crucial in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on February 25. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!